Discipline panel bars judge for life

HARRISBURG (AP) — A suspended Philadelphia judge was banned from the bench for life by a state judicial oversight panel.

The Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline on Tuesday said Common Pleas Judge Thomas Nocella’s actions violated the state constitution and he can never again hold judicial office in the state. He has been suspended since November.

The court panel says Nocella failed to report numerous lawsuits to the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2009 and 2011 while the group was trying to determine if it would endorse him for election.

The panel also cited Nocella’s involvement with a political action committee that allegedly failed to file financial disclosure forms and pay related fines to Philadelphia’s ethics board.

TOKYO — Tons of contaminated groundwater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have overwhelmed an underground barrier and are emptying daily into the Pacific, creating what a top regulator has called a crisis.

The water contains strontium and cesium as well as tritium, which is considered less dangerous when released into the ocean. The plant’s operator says it does not yet pose